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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22, 2000

NMA, DOE SELECT 16 NEW PROJECTS UNDER THE MINING INDUSTRY OF THE FUTURE PROGRAM

Washington - The National Mining Association and the U.S. Department of Energy today announce 16 new partnerships to promote technology development in the U.S. mining industry.

The Mining Industry of the Future, an industry-government alliance, has the goal of developing new technologies to ensure the health and safety of employees and the environment, reduce energy consumption, and produce higher quality products at lower costs. The new research projects are the second group to be awarded under this program.

Since signing an "Industries of the Future" compact with the DOE in June 1998, the mining industry, under the leadership of NMA, reached consensus on a common industry vision, a technology roadmap describing "crosscutting" research needs common to the entire industry, and the selection of 10 mining industry projects in July 1999. The Mining Industry of the Future program, guided by DOE's Office of Industrial Technologies, co-invests in promising research that is too costly or too risky for companies to sponsor on their own.

The 16 projects, selected from among 64 proposals received in open competition, bring together 62 companies, 11 universities, four DOE laboratories, and three government agencies. The partnerships span 26 states, the District of Columbia, Australia, and Canada. The 16 project teams will receive approximately $8 million in government funding over three years to develop new energy-efficient mining technologies.

"In cooperation with the Department of Energy, these new, forward-thinking projects will employ cutting-edge technologies to better protect the health and safety of our employees and our environment, while mining and processing higher quality mineral resources more efficiently and at lower costs," said NMA President and CEO Richard L. Lawson. "Technological advances such as these truly help make America's mining industry an industry of the future," Lawson said.

"Increasing energy efficiency in mining can lower costs for exploration and mineral processing and that could benefit the entire U.S. economy," said Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson.

The new projects, led by industry and university partners, focus on advanced mining and telecommunications equipment, and technologies to improve mining safety and productivity. A list, including descriptions of the new projects, follows:

• 24-Channel Geophone Array for Horizontal or Vertical Boreholes: This two-year project led by Virginia Polytechnic Institute will receive $124,875 and will be carried out by team members from CONSOL Inc, Global Stone James River, and NSA Engineering Inc. The goal of this project is to develop an array of 24 seismic sensors capable of being mounted in either vertical or horizontal boreholes to improve ground-imaging methods.
• Advanced Abrasion Resistant Materials: This three year project led by Caterpillar, Inc will receive $661,522 and will be carried out by team members from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, St. Louis Metallizing, the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and the University of California at Santa Barbara. Advanced abrasion-resistant materials for mining equipment will be developed and tested using two processes -- a hybrid pressure casting process for parts made out of steel metal matrix composites, and a novel heat treatment of parts that have been spray coated.
• Advanced Materials and New Manufacturing Techniques: This three year project led by Michigan Technological University will receive $233,881 and will be carried out by team members from Zeni Drilling Company, The Robbins Group, and Superior Rock Bit Company. The objective of this project is to develop an efficient means for producing rock drill bits and rock disc cutters that last longer, increase energy efficiency and penetration rates, and lower overall production cost.
• Advanced Underground Vehicle Power and Control: This one year project led by the Fuelcell Propulsion Institute will receive $145,000 and will be carried out by team members from Atlas Copco Wagner, Barrick Gold Corporation, Bituminous Coal Operators Association, H Power Corporation, ISI Group, Long-Airdox Company, Stolar Horizon, SVS, Inc., Inco Ltd., Mining Technologies International, Warren Equipment, CANMET, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, and Sandia National Laboratory. This project lays the foundation for the development of underground vehicles powered by fuel cells, and advanced collision-avoidance control technologies. These technologies will increase mine safety while improving productivity.
• Calibration Methods for On-Line Analyzers: This two and one-half year project led by Unviversity of Alaska at Fairbanks will receive $158,227 and will be carried out by team members from Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. and Golden Valley Electric Association. This project will use artificial neural networks to improve the calibration of on-line analyzers that monitor ore quality in real time.
• Cellular Composite Wear Resistant Components: This three-year project led by Advanced Ceramics Research, Inc. will receive $2,346,000 and will be carried out by team members from Smith Tool, Krebs Engineers, Inco Mines Research, Phelps Dodge Inc., the Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Missouri at Rolla, and the University of California at Santa Barbara. Advanced components for drilling, earth moving and crushing equipment made out of cellular composite materials will be designed and tested under this project.
• Comminution Circuit Optimization: This three year project led by Michigan Technological University will receive $448,656 and will be carried out by team members from Badger Mining Corporation, Svedala Industries Inc., Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, J.M. Huber Corporation, and the Electric Power Research Institute. The project will use mathematical models to save large amounts of energy by optimizing the operation of grinding mills so excessive amounts of fine material can be reduced.
• Dense-Medium Cyclone Optimization: This one year project led by Virginia Polytechnic Institute will receive $153,858 and will be carried out by team members from Massey Coal Services, Partition Enterprises Proprietary, and Precision Testing Proprietary. A set of engineering tools will be developed to allow plant operators to improve the efficiency of their dense-medium cyclones used to separate coal or some minerals from ore. Improvements in how coal and minerals are separated will reduce the energy costs associated with the process and increase the amount of valuable material that is recovered as product.
• Mapping Induced Polarization: This one year project led by Electromagnetic Instruments, Inc. will receive $164,825 and will be carried out by team members from Placer Dome Exploration Inc., Kennecott Exploration Company, and Quantech Consultants Inc. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the use of a new geophysical system to collect economically competitive induced polarization data using natural electromagnetic fields as the source. Applications of this method should reduce the need for drilling in resource exploration and characterization activities.
• Novel Dewatering Aids for Mineral and Coal Fines: This two year project led by Minerals and Coal Technologies, Inc. will receive $312,092 and will be carried out by team members from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Geophex, Ltd. The objective of this project is to develop novel chemicals that can facilitate the removal of water from mineral and coal fines using conventional mechanical dewatering equipment such as vacuum filters. This will help reduce the amount of fine material going into wastestreams as well as recover valuable minerals or coal from current wastestreams.
• Projectile Based Excavation: This two and one half year project led by Advanced Power Technologies, Inc. will receive $777,830 and will be carried out by team members from Baker Hughes Mining Tools and the University of Utah. This project focuses on the development of a novel, low cost projectile system for the rapid, efficient, excavation of rocks and ore in both surface and underground mines. This new system will use projectiles launched by electrical energy rather than conventional drilling and blasting methods that use propellants to do the work. Because no drilling is required, and the ore is more selectively excavated and broken up into smaller sizes, a significant savings in energy is expected.
• Real-Time Coal Content/Ore Grade Sensor: This three year project led by AdvR, Inc. will receive $358,214 and will be carried out by team members from Montana Tech of the University of Montana, Big Sky Geophysics, Western SynCoal Company, and the Stillwater Mining Company. This project will develop a real-time coal content/ore grade sensor that uses digital imaging techniques for use in exploration, mining, and processing operations. The sensor will increase safety, decrease environmental impacts, and decrease energy requirements for exploration, mining, and processing activities.
• Roof Bolt System Design: This three year project led by West Virginia University will receive $563,504 and will be carried out by team members from J.H. Fletcher & Company, CONSOL Inc, The Ohio Valley Coal Company, Riverton Coal Production Company, Commercial Stone Company, and Newmont Mining Corporation. This project is designed to improve roof-bolting techniques, the most popular method for supporting roofs in underground mines. A computerized roof-bolting control system that can evaluate the geologic conditions of a roof in real-time will be developed to determine suitable roof bolt system design requirements. Improvements in roof-bolting systems will lead to increased worker protection and improved mining production.
• Remote Sensing and Imaging at the Cutting Edges of Mining Equipment: This three-year project led by Stolar Horizon, Inc. will receive $899,746 and will be carried out by team members from Colorado School of Mines, Los Alamos National Laboratory, U.S. Mining Safety and Health Administration, CONSOL Inc., RAG American Coal, FMC Corporation, and Lee Ranch Coal Company. A sensor that uses remote sensing and imaging technology to make real-time measurements of mining conditions will be tested on the cutting edges of mining equipment. The researchers hope to develop a cutting-edge sensor that will improve worker safety--by preventing worker exposure to rock outbursts in deep mines and allowing greater remote control of equipment--while at the same time improving the efficiency of mining operations.
• Treatment of Cyanide Solutions and Slurries Using Air-Sparged Hydrocyclone Technology: This two year project led by the University of Utah will receive $319,353 and will be carried out by team members from Unifield Engineering, Inc., ZPM Inc., Solvay Minerals, Baker Hughes, Ken Snyder Mine, Utah Engineering Experiment Station, and Doug Halbe. The air-sparged hydrocyclone (ASH) technology -- technology that is currently used to remove oil from contaminated soil and treat industrial waste water -- will be adapted and field-tested to provide low cost recovery or destruction of cyanide used in mining operations. This technology could be used to remove many different trace contaminants from mining process streams.
• Wireless Mine-wide Telecommunications Technology: This three year project led by Transtek, Inc. will receive $400,000 and will be carried out by team members from University of Pittsburgh, Victor Products USA, NIOSH/Lake Lynn Laboratory, CONSOL Inc., and the Ben Franklin Technology Center of Southwestern Pennsylvania. The objective of this project is to develop a two-way, real time, wireless communications system for use in underground mines. This technology will improve mine safety and productivity.

The U.S. mining industry produces coal, metals, building materials, and many other essential minerals that define the daily lives of 267 million Americans. The mining industry generates over $500 billion in total economic benefit each year and helps to sustain nearly 5 million U.S. jobs.